DON’T FORGET TO DO MEOWNSTER HUNTER EXPEDITIONS IN BETWEEN EVERY QUEST!
…maybe I’m getting ahead of myself. Let me restart.
I’ve been playing Monster Hunter Generations for the past week, and I had a real problem finding Dragonite Ore when I broke into four star Village Quests. It threw a wrench in my weapon upgrade plans – and with Nargacuga, Rathian, and Blangonga making their debut at this level, it slowed my peppy stride to a sad slog. That’s when I realized just how much time I’d wasted not using Meownster Hunter Expeditions. The mechanic was a bit of a pain in Monster Hunter 4 Ultimate, but, Generations does away with all of that and keeps the process simple –and fun!
If you go to the Palico Ranch and speak with d’Artanyan, you can dispatch up to four Palicoes on Meownster Hunter Expeditions. The difficulty of the expedition will be displayed next to the location name, represented in stars. Occasionally, you’ll see “RARE” displayed next to the name, which means rare materials or hidden areas can be discovered.
First step, choose a location. You unlock new locations as you progress through Village Quests, and each location has unique materials and Monsters. Next, choose your Palicoes. When you launch the expedition, the top screen will display a map with several colored areas representing an Item or Monster. The bottom screen will display a Palico-loaded cannon. Each Palico has a Support Bias (Assist, Attack, etc. – I’ll talk about that another time) that determines its color for this mini game; aim for the area of the same color and, if they land within the colored area, you’ll have a chance at earning more materials to build Palico and Hunter Armor alike.
Not only did this help speed up collection of difficult-to-find materials like Dragonite Ore and Shiny Beetles (you’ll need a lot of those two, by the way), but occasional hidden spaces indicated by a “?” (this will be invisible until a Palico passes through it in the mini-game) brought me unique materials – Rust Shards, Sinister Cloth, Broken Statues, Extravagant Artifacts, to name a few – that can only be found in Meownster Hunter Expeditions. They yield very special equipment for hunters and Palicoes alike – my personal favorite being the Grim Reaper themed equipment the Sinister Cloth yields.
Seriously though, I know Monster Hunter has a tendency to dramatize weapon descriptions, but just read the text for Graceful Death, the hammer you can make with Sinister Cloth:
“A weapon resembling the hand of a vengeful spirit. It grips the souls of those it has reaped.”
Though, it’d be unfair to not mention the El Dora Blade Great Sword – which, while initially lackluster in attack and sharpness, you can’t help but invest in it. It looks like something Hernan Cortez might use in a Koei Tecmo re-imagining of the evil Empire-destroying Conquistador.
There’s some really cool flavor in these weapons, too. The Broken Statue material yields equipment based on ancient idols. For Palicoes, this means getting a statue-like armor set said to resemble old Felyne gods of old. Palicoes get a weapon called the Stone Cat Statue, a “precious Felyne relic repurposed for hunting,” with the additional note, “your Palico will hate you.”
One weapon that really left an impression on me, though, is the Chameleos Charge Blade. The weapon’s description notes that it’s “a blade based on a mysterious statue and designed to worship the fascinating Chameleos.” While in Axe Mode, Chameleos’ enraged eyes are revealed and the sword becomes the stealthy Elder Dragon’s long, sticky tongue. The only down side to these weapons is that they require considerable investment of rare materials and zenny, so be ready to hope online with your friends or practice some saintly patience until you reach the end of the game’s solo portion.
I later came to realize, though, that I wasn’t just neglecting Meownster Hunter Expeditions – I was severely underestimating Monster Hunter Generations’ newest…Mode? Weapon? Character? Whatever you want to call it, its official name is Prowler mode -where you play as one of your Palicoes on the hunt.
I’ll talk about how Prowler Mode as become my new addiction another time, though.
